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EBMM StingRay Special Club

Ya it's gotten pretty crazy here in Waterloo. House prices have doubled in the last few years. I'm lucky my wife and i bought our house in 2018.
Yeah, I’ve got quite a few friends out your way. Housing in southern Ont (and especially the GTA) is totally insane.

How’s a guy supposed to fuel the Stingray Special GAS when they’ve gotta keep a roof over their head?! :laugh:
 
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Even I had to add a little change from my normal sparkles preference and get a burst with my Fuego Fretless. :smug:
And I was quite impressed! :) If I do end up with another Stingray, I suspect it will be a Sparkle. This thread has opened my eyes. ;) And it probably won't have a tort pickguard, either! ;)


Wait, what? There's a Charcoal Sparkle 5HH at your local GC and you haven't purchased it yet? o_O
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And I was quite impressed! :) If I do end up with another Stingray, I suspect it will be a Sparkle. This thread has opened my eyes. ;) And it probably won't have a tort pickguard, either! ;)



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I was quite surprised when I saw a Charcoal Sparkle with a Tort pickguard. I never would have expected it to look as nice as it did. Very surprised.
 
I have to give you a lot of credit on your personal growth. You're putting me to shame! :eek:

I know that probably sounds sarcastic, but that's not how I meant it.
:)
Didn’t take it that way. Ive grown tired of switching out basses. Once I realized that nothing feels better in my hands than Ernie Ball MusicMan, ( Sandberg a close 2nd) I’ve made it a point to put in extra time getting to know them all. Appreciate them for what they are.
 
Didn’t take it that way. Ive grown tired of switching out basses. Once I realized that nothing feels better in my hands than Ernie Ball MusicMan, ( Sandberg a close 2nd) I’ve made it a point to put in extra time getting to know them all. Appreciate them for what they are.

Yeah my Special has ruined me to many other basses. Just love the feel as much as the sound.

I do wish EBMM made a 5 string 70s Jazz...

Actually I really wish they made a 5 string Sabre!
 
I took the new Amber Special out with the Motown/soul band tonight and WOW!
A little elaboration: I tried a three-band, pre-Special StingRay with the same band many years ago and really disliked the tone for Motown (and ultimately sold the bass). Too thin and zingy.
The Special is a different matter. Nice and full, but I could also get a snappier funk tone when needed with the turn of a knob. My Specials definitely will be making future appearances at a gig I'd long reserved for P-Basses only.:)
 
A little elaboration: I tried a three-band, pre-Special StingRay with the same band many years ago and really disliked the tone for Motown (and ultimately sold the bass). Too thin and zingy.
The Special is a different matter. Nice and full, but I could also get a snappier funk tone when needed with the turn of a knob. My Specials definitely will be making future appearances at a gig I'd long reserved for P-Basses only.:)
That is what I love so much about the Specials. They can do the Vintage 2Band StingRay sounds. However, those neodymium pickups and the preamp can get some nice full , smooth and warm almost passive like tones. Especially with flats.
All 4 of my Specials wear flats…… TI flats on the “Special “ Specials . ( Fretless and Short Scale). Slinky Cobalts on the 5H and 5HH.
 
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I do like flats on a Stingray!

The previous owner of my Special had a set of nearly new Elixir Nanowebs on it when I bought it last May and they're still on it. They're so nice and broken in now... :woot: Based on my first experience with the Nanowebs, earlier this year I took off the 3-4 year old Chromes that were on my ceramic Stingray and put Nanowebs on it and have really liked change of pace of having rounds back on that bass.

But, with the rounds now back on the ceramic, I was planning to put flats (most likely Chromes, but I may try a set of flats I've never used before) on my Special in the near future. I was thinking that rounds on the ceramic and flats on the Special would better highlight the difference between the two basses. Hopefully that plan will work out the way I think it might.
 
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That is what I love so much about the Specials. They can do the Vintage 2Band StingRay sounds. However, those neodymium pickups and the preamp can get some nice full , smooth and warm almost passive like tones. Especially with flats.
All 4 of my Specials wear flats…… TI flats on the “Special “ Specials . ( Fretless and Short Scale). Slinky Cobalts on the 5H and 5HH.
The Amber Special (maple) came with extremely corroded roundwounds, and I played the gig with them. I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep the bass, so I'll be changing strings, probably to some kind of flats. However, that means both my maple-board Specials will have flats, while the Amethyst (rosewood) and Cruz Teal (ebony) have rounds, at least for now. Seems counter-intuitive, but...
 
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The Amber Special (maple) came with extremely corroded roundwounds, and I played the gig with them. I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep the bass, so I'll be changing strings, probably to some kind of flats. However, that means both my maple-board Specials will have flats, while the Amethyst (rosewood) and Cruz Teal (ebony) have rounds, at least for now. Seems counter-intuitive, but...
I’m sure some will find it counter intuitive for you to be able to play Motown on a StingRay too. But these basses are a different beast. The more time I spend with mine, the more I can get out of what they have to offer.

Your comment is making consider giving ebony another try. Hmmmm.
 
Okay, is there any Stingray Special owners here that do their own action adjustments? String height, neck relief, etc?

I’m pretty sure my new Special 5H is fine, doesn’t have problems. I’m just having a hard time deciding on a balance between action height and neck relief that works for me. Nothing is moving around, but I’ve spent a third night working on that balance. I think I’m going to like this setup I hit on tonight.

I know the bass is brand new and will be a little bit settling in. All my Lulls have been easy the first time in, set it and forget it (unless I change string types, argghh..,)

Just curious what other owners are experiencing. Certainly not complaining, I love this Stingray!
 
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Okay, is there any Stingray Special owners here that do their own action adjustments? String height, neck relief, etc?

I’m pretty sure my new Special 5H is fine, doesn’t have problems. I’m just having a hard time deciding on a balance between action height and neck relief that works for me. Nothing is moving around, but I’ve spent a third night working on that balance. I think I’m going to like this setup I hit on tonight.

I know the bass is brand new and will be a little bit settling in. All my Lulls have been easy the first time in, set it and forget it (unless I change string types, argghh..,)

Just curious what other owners are experiencing. Certainly not complaining, I love this Stingray!
I do all my own set ups, and struggled initially with the Special as well. Ended up that I had a small dip in the neck that had to be fixed by a Luthier, it’s not common but does happen. After that I can get real low action. Also the hollow bridge saddles don’t let you go as low as you like. I lower the pickup on the E side a bit to balance the output, and aim for 3/32’s or so from the top of the 17th fret to the bottom of each string. However like I mentioned I had to have the neck and frets tweaked a bit first to get there.
 
Okay, is there any Stingray Special owners here that do their own action adjustments? String height, neck relief, etc?

I’m pretty sure my new Special 5H is fine, doesn’t have problems. I’m just having a hard time deciding on a balance between action height and neck relief that works for me. Nothing is moving around, but I’ve spent a third night working on that balance. I think I’m going to like this setup I hit on tonight.

I know the bass is brand new and will be a little bit settling in. All my Lulls have been easy the first time in, set it and forget it (unless I change string types, argghh..,)

Just curious what other owners are experiencing. Certainly not complaining, I love this Stingray!

I had one high fret that needed some TLC but after that it set up wonderfully. I now only have to make a minor adjustment to the truss rod about twice a year.